The technical/communication universe is supremely ticked off at me: first my Mac died, then my iPhone’s Apps all got erased, then Comcast internet services failed, going on over a week now. Which is why I haven’t posted for a while. But now I come back to you with 3 new klepto-collaborative poems from TEDxAustin!
I’d like to do a much more thorough intro on these speakers, as I did with the previous ones for Chris Riley and David R. Dow, but I’m zipping in and out of this Starbucks as quickly as possible so this is going to be a bit more brief than I’d prefer.
Todd Humphreys is a professor of aerospace engineering and engineering mechanics. He heads a team at UT studying GPS technology: spoofing and jamming, personal, corporate and national security, all of its capacity to serve us, save us, get us lost, or harm us. What I really wanted to ask him is whether the little blue GPS dots can be utilized to find my car in the airport parking garage. There really should be an App for that. Wait. Is there already? Somebody let me know.
One of the ways this technology has impacted my own life in the last couple of years is by way of an App called Cyclemeter by Abvio. I ride in the NYC Marathon with Team Leary Firefighters Foundation using a recumbent trike as reasonable accommodation for a disability. (you can read about that on my other blog, Wonky Woman On A Bent Trike, if you’re so inclined) It does what you’d expect in terms of mapping and timing rides, giving me that data in nifty little graphs that compare my times from previous rides on the same route and keeps all my rides on a calendar so that I can chart my progress by week, month, year. But what I find most valuable about Cyclemeter is the peace-of-mind quotient.
I have MS, and in the day to day world I go about my life with the help of my mobility assistance dog. When I’m out riding, though, Luke is not able to be with me. So anytime I’m off the trike during rides – water fountain, bathroom breaks, doing emergency maintenance, stretching, manhandling the trike in and out of the rack on the car – I’m at increased risk for falling. Since one of Luke’s primary superpowers is helping me up when I fall, being out on roads and trails without him is a mite dangerous. (this is one of those risk/reward things)
When I’m out on training rides I’m usually too steeped in the freedom and independence that I’m enjoying to worry about the What Ifs, but my husband Gary does not have the same distractions from concern. When I’m away from home riding, without my trusty sidekick/co-pilot, part of Gary’s consciousness is wrapped up in wondering if I’m okay, whether I’m back home safe and sound yet. A phone call at the beginning, half-way through and the end of my ride used to be our routine. But now, thanks to Cyclemeter, life’s much simpler for both of us, and much less anxiety ridden on Gary’s part.
Here’s why: when I begin my ride the program is set to send Gary an email with a link that includes my start time and location. Gary can use that link to check on my progress throughout my ride. Cyclemeter syncs with Google Maps and updates my location using the GPS on my phone. If the little blue dot that is me stays in one place for too long – longer than stretching or a bathroom break would warrant – Gary might call me. If I don’t respond he knows exactly where to go looking. And, if it’s the weekend and he’s at home while I’m out riding, he can gauge by the blue dot when I’m about to arrive home and have hot chocolate or a smoothie waiting for me. I love that Gary doesn’t have to worry (well, okay, he still worries – but not as much!) and I love those waiting-for-me smoothies or cups of steaming cocoa on chilly days 
Here’s my klepto-collaborative poem from Todd Humphrey’s Talk at TEDxAustin. Todd, if you’re reading this, never in my wildest dreams have I imagined crafting a poem even remotely related to aerospace engineering!
WRINKLES IN AUTHENTICATION
Imagine a world full of GPS dots.
Little sensitive lighthouses
to guide you.
Each one with
a reassuring blue halo
of Here you are!
A silent subversive relay.
A carrier of
accuracy matters.
And unfortunately
inherently prone to
errors the size of a small room.
You might get tracked
harassed or even hijacked
with this invisible utility.
At the expense of privacy.
Leaving behind safety.
In the wrong hands it might be deadly.
Someone who feels threatened with this
“Big Neighbor” potential for chaos
might design a Frankenstein tool.
But if you knew what you were doing
you could build a wave bubble
to spoof your possessions car house.
A switch to be thrown
to reclaim personal space
to help protect the general population.
Or a design that rises to the level of
awful fearsome environment
panicked game over.
An invasion of blue dots is looming.
Like a thick imperceptible fog
just over the horizon.
You could be the proud owner of
a bagful of technical twist.
Captain of You can trust us!
*****
I already told you how crazy I am for Ellie Audet in my previous post. My “want” for one of those paper fashion creations of hers has grown into full-blown covet within the couple weeks since TEDxAustin. So much thought have I given her delightful paper creations that I’ve come to the conclusion an Ellie-created tutu is precisely the thing I should not be without in next year’s New York City Marathon. You know, to make me pedal faster, to give me something whimsical and beyond-measure-beautiful to focus on during the uphills of all those bridges. It would be a tangible, wearable, Easter-Sunday-rebirth-festive symbol of the privilege and gratitude I feel to be a part of Team Leary Firefighters Foundation and among the field of challenged athletes who overcome incredible odds to show up at the starting line. Those folks who, along with me, make of each and every mile an outright parade of celebration for what we can do. Which, when you think about it, is an adventure of transformational proportions.
I was thinking the tutu would be my version of a superhero cape. Because even though I’m a cyclist and a differently-abled marathoner, I’m first and foremost a poet. So it makes perfect sense to me that my superhero signifier of flight – of resurrecting courage and hope, of conquering adversity – would be a tutu rather than a cape :0)
Ellie, if you’re reading this, imagine the klepto-collaborative poem I made from your TED Talk written in flourishes of cursive with peacock-teal ink on cotton-candy-blue handmade paper, with maraschino-cherry-red confetti, lavender flower petals, silver and gold glitter, slivery strips of tangerine and sunshine yellow satiny ribbon woven into the mix. Oh, and I’d like to place my official order for a Ellie Audet Original tutu to wear with tremendous paper-lovin’ pride during the 2012 NYC Marathon, please. Can you do something with an orange, red and yellow flame motif? I’m pretty sure that would help me pedal faster, and I have no doubt that the firefighters I raise funds and awareness for would really appreciate the oxymoronic irony of such a flammable fashion statement sporting its own “fire.”
PAPER LOVE
A little girl
viewing math, origami, all coming together.
Playing with notions of fashion
to create something useful.
Convey love of the beautiful.
Rest your eyes on this dress.
Cherish the way it folds, crinkles.
The role of paper projections
in relationship to fractal geometry.
Inspiration is basically
a chef.
Challenge yourself.
And then suddenly a couple’s lawn
is transformed into
an angry queen’s skirt.
*****
Penny de los Santos is a storyteller, like me, except that she uses her camera instead of a word processor as her primary means of story-craft. I love her way of exploring culture and identity through food. I love her beliefs about seeing and connecting. I love that from now on I can legitimize any culinary indulgence as “cultural exploration.” Thanks for that, Penny!
And thank you, with all sincerity, for your unforgettable, evocative images. Your photography is indeed a storied feast. I am welcomed by your invitation, drawn into the circle of warm glow, of community and connection. My heart and mind are nourished by the symbolic meals you prepared with your inspired poetic visioning.
REALLY SEE
Create this canvas
locked and loaded
with light, composition and color
on the most random of street corners.
Honest
first taste next plane last breath
expressions of who we are.
A beautiful
capture human moments
chicken soup mosaic
of
noticed, appreciated
celebrated.
Look at
this picture prayer
of a mother
in her last hours
surrounded by her children
sharing a meal
of sacred
from a TV tray.
See
the entire room
lit
travelling
with connection.
Watch a father
visiting the
room went black grave
of his one true
like nothing else
every 1/100th of a second
I think of you
flowers forever
love.
Be brave enough
to peel away our
culture
gender, nationality
last confession differences
taught to us by
soldiers of
dark history
blind government
the Mexican border
of our mind’s eye.
If
we’re not
open, present, vulnerable
seeing and connecting
then we’re all
hungry
lost the picture refugees
turn for the worse
watchmen on the rooftops.
Take the first taste
of
see this moment
food.
Become the visual storyteller
savoring intensely
exploring.
Flash
an orange golden hue on
across the globe all around us
under the carport
faces.
Families
fled their home country
careful to keep a low profile.
They brought
recipes
taught to them by their mothers.
In the dowdiest diners
they gather around meals
to remember
to taste
home.
Will you make me some?
*****
Photos by Gary Lanier
